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PolyGram Video (UK)
Background: PolyGram Video was the home entertainment arm of PolyGram Filmed Entertainment. On December 10, 1998, PolyGram was sold to Seagram & Sons (the former parent of Universal Studios, now part of "NBCUniversal"), the video division was sold to USA Networks, Inc., became the home entertainment division of the USA Network, and folded into USA Home Entertainment. They also distributed BBC Video tapes in Australia until 1996, where distribution was taken over by Roadshow Entertainment & ABC Video (the Australian "ABC"). 1st Logo (1982-1992, 2000) Nickname: "Pixie Dust & Red Line" Logo: On a black background, yellow dust begins to form the PolyGram Video logo. Like a roller-coaster (and the 1980s RKO logo), it zooms forward, dipping down, then flying back up again, also showing a line with red stars underneath it. “presents” flies in from the right one-by-one, and a white bar of light passes through the logo. Variants: * Releases from Spectrum had their own special variant of this logo (and its German counterpart); more information can be seen here. * The German "Arena" version of this logo has the word "PolyGram" with several shadows of the word flying up from the bottom and "flashing" as the main word flashes several colors. The red stars appear below, and the Arena logo is wiped in (a white box with "ARENA" in thick letters in an arc and a "swoosh" around the top, making the whole thing resemble a disc). FX/SFX: It's all in Scanimate animation. Music/Sounds: An eerie synthesized humming sound, complete with two “whooshes” at the end. The Arena variant uses the music from the Spectrum version (Magnum: On The Wings of Heaven, however, uses the Spectrum version on the standard logo). In case you did not notice, the jingle was also used for the normal version, only on Spain VHS releases. Availability: Extremely rare. Check thrift stores or eBay for VHS releases containing this logo. It can be seen on the UK pre-cert release of An American Werewolf in London. The German version can be seen on German PAL tapes such as The Vindicator. On DVD, this logo can be seen on the Image release of Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii, and the PolyGram release of Magnum: On The Wings of Heaven, due to the source of the video being an old master. The logo can also be seen on a few of RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video's Musicvision tapes featuring artists under the PolyGram umbrella (including Rush: Through the Camera's Eye). 2nd Logo (1986) Nickname: "Poly Want a Gram Cracker?" Logo: On a red background, "PolyGram" moves from the top right corner of the screen to the left-hand side facing the left, then faces the right and move downwards, creating a rollercoaster effect. A line of stars moves up underneath the PolyGram text. "HOME OF THE STARS" appears going down, then going up, a la the Telepictures Rollercoaster logo. An anthropomorphic cartoon parrot smiling while pointing its finger in the air fades to the right. FX/SFX/Cheesy Factor: This one goes off the charts. The effects look dated as of 1986 (especially if you compare this to Marvel's "CGI Spidey" logo). Also, you can see some white fade in the right corners, and the left. Music/Sounds: It has 3 short beeps that briefly paused between them, followed by a high pitched version of an excerpt from the beginning of Boytronic's "Tonight". Availability: Known to only appear on a VHS of Alien Violators. 3rd Logo (November 22, 1990-1993) Nicknames: "PV", "PV Videotape", "VHS Assembly" Logo: On a white background, parts of a video tape are drawn together (the background shows the parts in extreme close-up), and eventually two black conjoined ellipses with the letter "P" in one and a red upside down triangle (representing a "V") on the bottom position themselves onto the spools. The words "PolyGram Video" pop in one by one in sync with the music. Variants: *On several LaserDisc releases, the animation shows a LaserDisc being drawn instead of a video tape, and at the end, the words are shifted to the left, appear all at once, and a small gray LaserDisc logo (which looks like the LaserVision logo) appears next to them. *On French VHS releases, like Cabraet, after the black oval outline draws in, the inside of the "P" oval fills in yellow and the black "P" fades from black to blue. The triangle oval's interior fills in blue and the triangle appears yellow. FX/SFX: Very nice and modern graphics, especially for 1990! Music/Sounds: A mellow electronic rock theme combined with whirring sounds of machinery, ending with a guitar stinger - which would later serve as the main musical element to the 4front Video logo Availability: Very rare. NFL CrunchCourse and the Buffalo Bills 1993 Video Yearbook are 2 tapes that have this, along with early U.S. and international Mighty Morphin Power Rangers tapes (though the next logo was used on the box and tape label). Also seen on PolyGram's first 4 UK rental releases - the 3 known ones are The Crying Game, Dust Devil, and Braindead. It has appeared as early as the 1990 VHS release of The Story of The Moody Blues: Legend of a Band and the 1991 release of Sabrina - On Stage. 4th Logo (1993-1998) Nicknames: "BANG! And the PolyGram's Here", "Stretched Red Line of Doom", "Scratches of Doom", "Shuffle the Cards" Logo: On a black background, the letters of the white words "PolyGram Video" quickly unfold letter-by-letter. The red line glows in and shrinks to fit the length of the text as it dims down. Variants: * From 1995-97, the black background was replaced with a blue wallpaper with PolyGram Video logos in the background. Children's videos, like Bananas in Pajamas: Pink Spot and Wishbone: Salty Dog, continued to use the original version, however. * On the 2007 Swedish DVD of The Howling, the logo is presented in 1.85:1 widescreen (possibly due to using an old video master and matting it down to widescreen). * On German VHS releases, like the Barney releases of the era, after the logo forms the blue warning scrolls up as the logo fades out a few seconds later. After the warning, the © info (with the phonographic copyright symbol used instead) scrolls up, stops in the middle and fades out a few seconds later. * Sometimes, it fades out immediately after it forms. * At the end a 1995 promo for the NFL Greatest Ever Season videotape series, the logo appears, but then the NFL Films logo fades in underneath the red line. FX/SFX: Simple animation. Music/Sounds: A series of loud "scratching" sounds as the letters appear, a "whoosh" as the line appears and shrinks, and a bang. Music/Sounds Variants: *Sometimes it's silent. *On the NFL Greatest Ever Season promo, the announcer's last words ("From PolyGram Video and NFL Films!") and the end of the accompanying theme play over it. Availability: Common. Found on PolyGram releases of the period such as Mr. Bean tapes, A Gnome Named Gnorm, Jason's Lyric, and The Adventures of Tintin (surprisingly retained on a Spanish Magna DVD which likely uses the same video master). This also appears on the original PolyGram DVDs of Portrait of a Lady and Kalifornia, among others. Also shows up on mid-Nineties releases of Atlantic Releasing Corporation films, including a 1995 VHS of 1984 and a 1996 VHS of Teen Wolf. The blue wallpaper version debuted on Canadian Bacon. On the 1996 VHS of The Little Death, the blue wallpaper version appeared before the previews, while the black background version appeared afterward. 5th Logo (1997-1999) Nicknames: "PolyGram Wing Man", "Icarus" Logo: Same as its television logo, but with "VIDEO" underneath. Variants: * There is a longer version which is based on the movie logo, except the video indicator appears instead. So far, it was found on the UK VHS releases of The Real Macaw and The Borrowers. * On some promotional trailers, there is also a more abstract version of the logo with a solid blue Icarus. This is based off the print logo. * On Franklin tapes from Reader's Digest, the print logo is used. * There exists a widescreen version of the logo, along with a cropped 2.35:1 scope version. FX/SFX: Same as the movie and television counterparts. Music/Sounds: None. Music/Sounds Variants: On the screener VHS of Bean (which may be the first tape to use this logo), it uses the theme from the previous logo. Availability: Uncommon. Seen on PolyGram releases of the period like Barney's Great Adventure, What Dreams May Come, Bean, The Borrowers, and The Big Lebowski, among others. Also seen on reissues of Troll 2, The Graduate, and The Curse, among others. This also appears on the original DVDs of Ghost in the Shell, Mr. Saturday Night, Needful Things, and Misery, among others. Also seen on the 1998 World Series video. The 2.35:1 scope version appears on the 2000 MGM DVD of Escape From New York. Category:United Kingdom Category:Nightmare Logos Category:Home video companies of the United Kingdom Category:Comcast Category:NBCUniversal Category:PolyGram